Aston to lead Israel's Maccabiah cricket challenge

The Israel squad for the 19th Maccabiah to be held in Israel from July 18–30 has been announced.

Raymond Aston, a veteran of the national team who made his debut back in the ICC Trophy in Kenya in 1994, takes over as captain from Herschel Gutman, allowing the latter to concentrate on his dual responsibilities of player and coach.

Attacking top order batsman Eshkol Solomon is promoted to vice-captain.

Numerous changes have been made from the team which participated in the European Championships in Corfu last year, giving the squad a more youthful look. Graduates of the youth development programme, opening batsman Safania Nagavkar and all-rounders Itamar Kehimkar and Nir Dokarkar return to the senior team and will be keen to cement their places for years to come with strong performances.

Seasoned batsmen Danny Malyankar and Shalom Rubin are rewarded for their consistent domestic form with national call-ups. The squad also includes two debutants in Matt Hoffmann and Matan Razpurker.